Chapter 33: The Cruel Truth
The Iburi Clan’s unique Bloodline Limit is the ability to transform their own bodies into smoke.
It is somewhat like the Water Transformation Technique of the Water Lamp Clan, nearly immune to physical damage.
However, the Iburi Clan’s Bloodline Limit has a fatal flaw: they cannot freely control their bodies after transforming into mist. Once blown by the wind, they will dissipate into nothing and die completely.
Therefore, their clan can only live in the underground world without wind, leading a dark, sunless life with scarce supplies.
Back then, after Lord Orochimaru saved their clan, he used the method of implanting Curse Marks to barely control their mist transformation ability, also extending this clan’s lifespan.
But in exchange, Lord Orochimaru took away the children of the Iburi Clan, promising that through research on these children, he would fully unravel the Iburi Clan’s secrets, allowing them to live under the sunlight.
However, the result was that all these children died in Lord Orochimaru’s live experiments.
“Who are you!” Gōta, as the Clan Head, stepped forward, his burly body shielding the clan members, glaring angrily at the intruder.
The voice under Yamato’s mask was low: “He is the mysterious ninja who has recently risen to fame in the Ninja World! Codename ‘Shura’, with immeasurable strength!”
“No matter how strong you are, I won’t allow you to slander Lord Orochimaru!” Gōta roared, transforming into a burst of smoke and charging forward.
The other Iburi Clan members also transformed into smoke one after another, instantly enveloping the entire underground space in a fog.
“Celestial Maiden.” Menma called softly.
In the dim tunnel, a ‘female’ figure floated out, guarding in front of Menma, waving the ribbon in her hand like a tornado, generating a strong wind that blew through the underground space, fiercely blasting toward the smoke formed by the Iburi Clan.
Immediately scattering most of this smoke, frightening the Iburi Clan into retreating in terror.
“Damn guy!” The smoke that Gōta transformed into tried to enter this mysterious ‘female ninja’s’ body, casting the ‘Smoke Infusion Technique’.
This is the Iburi Clan’s secret technique: transforming into smoke and entering the enemy’s body through the mouth or nose, then smoke-roasting the enemy’s internal organs.
If it is a ninja unfamiliar with the Iburi Clan’s characteristics, they are very likely to be killed by this move.
Even when Kakashi tracked here, he was subdued by Gōta with the ‘Smoke Infusion Technique’. If Yamato hadn’t appeared to save Kakashi, Kakashi might have been either dead or severely injured.
But after Gōta circled around the Celestial Maiden, he was shocked to find no entrance into her body.
This move, which was almost always effective, had failed!
The opponent had no mouth or nose to enter at all!
“How is that possible!” Gōta in smoke form was utterly shocked,
Without their greatest secret, and without systematic ninja training, Gōta and the Iburi Clan’s combat power was very weak.
“Wind Release…” Menma’s hands were about to form hand seals.
Upon hearing the words ‘Wind Release’, Gōta was suddenly startled and immediately floated backward, pulling away the distance.
But when he returned to his clan members’ side, he discovered that the mysterious person opposite hadn’t activated any Wind Release ninjutsu at all; his hands were just holding a pose.
Fooled by the feint, Gōta dispelled his smoke form, his pupils trembling.
The person before him seemed to know their clan very well!
“Wood Release: Silent Killing Binding Technique!” Yamato also made his move. As his hands finished forming seals, a diamond-shaped piece of wood drilled out from the ground, extending infinitely toward the Celestial Maiden floating in the air and generating strong winds.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—whoosh—
However, several Wind Blades flew out from behind Menma, slicing this snake-like wood into several segments.
Yamato sensed that the chakra of his ‘Wood Release: Silent Killing Binding Technique’ was being absorbed, and he couldn’t help but look shocked at another mysterious masked person floating out from behind the masked man, holding a scythe!
‘Can absorb chakra?!’ Yamato felt something was wrong. The greatest feature of his Wood Release was that once it wrapped around an enemy, it could absorb their chakra to grow, which is why Wood Release could counter the Tails famous for their massive chakra reserves!
But now, a mysterious ninja who could also absorb chakra had appeared!
‘No, it’s not even certain if he is human.’
While Yamato and Gōta and the others were filled with dread, Menma slightly raised his right hand, and the Celestial Maiden stopped generating the strong winds.
Menma turned to Yamato: “Haven’t you told them yet? What Lord Orochimaru did that got him wanted by Konoha.”
‘!!!’
Yamato fell silent.
As a survivor from the laboratory, he was naturally well aware of the experiments Lord Orochimaru had conducted, how many innocent lives they had taken, including many young children, even children of the Iburi Clan…
“Then let me tell you.” Menma slowly walked forward, with the Celestial Maiden and the Third Shinigami floating behind him, intimidating the entire scene.
Gōta and the others were pressured by this powerful aura and involuntarily retreated half a step.
“Lord Orochimaru originated from Konohagakure, yet he kidnapped Konoha ninjas for live experiments, killing quite a few people. The Third Hokage personally led a team to clean house, beating Lord Orochimaru into severe injury. Now, he has probably come to collect on your debt.”
“Oh right, the children of your Iburi Clan also all died in Lord Orochimaru’s laboratory.”
Gōta staggered backward, instinctively wanting to refute, but Menma said to Yamato: “You can ask him, this child who survived from Lord Orochimaru’s laboratory.”
“Tenzo…” Yukimi looked worriedly at Yamato, trying to seek confirmation.
At this moment, Yamato, wearing the Tanuki Mask, fell into a brief daze.
Because he recalled, while soaking in Lord Orochimaru’s experimental vessels, the children in the surrounding experimental vessels, and a girl very similar to Yukimi who smiled at him through the glass.
They all eventually disappeared one by one.
They were probably disposed of due to experiment failures.
Just like he had been back then.
If Danzō hadn’t discovered him, Yamato would have died long ago too.
Yamato’s kind nature made him want to tell Gōta and the others the truth, but Root’s indoctrination made him struggle intensely.
Gōta looked down at Yamato and saw he didn’t deny it, so he knew the truth was probably even more cruel than what the mysterious person opposite had said.
This also shook Gōta’s loyalty to Lord Orochimaru.
The premise for the Iburi Clan’s loyalty to Lord Orochimaru was that he would help them solve the problem of their smoke transformation lacking self-control, and Lord Orochimaru proposed needing children for experiments because children’s bodies were not yet fully formed, and perhaps secrets of the Iburi Clan could be discovered through their growth.
The Iburi Clan, with only a little over twenty adult members, handed over five children. Except for the young Yukimi, the other children were all given to Lord Orochimaru.
And Lord Orochimaru promised them that he would definitely bring the children back alive.
If Lord Orochimaru was truly mad enough to slaughter even his Konoha compatriots, what were those promises worth?
Yukimi’s pleading gaze finally shattered Yamato’s hesitation: “Those children… indeed did not survive.”
“No… impossible…” Gōta’s world collapsed.
As the Clan Head who had agreed to cooperate with Lord Orochimaru and sent out the children, Gōta couldn’t believe such a cruel truth.
Among those sent-out children was his own son.
“So, how about we make a bet?” Menma’s mischievous mentality surfaced again.
“With your clan’s lives as the stake.”
The voice under the mask was light and cheerful, as if proposing a game.
“I am really looking forward to having the Iburi Clan’s Bloodline Limit in my collection.”
The White Three-Eyed Fox Mask gleamed with a bewitching sheen in the dim firelight.
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